Five Things That Never Happened
by Taranea
Summary: Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and Rouge: Their fates intertwined in ways previously unimagined, connected by bonds of friendship and tragedy alike. But all of these things...never happened.
1. Still the Fastest:  Archie, SEGA

Note: Just recently I came across the Five Things That Never Happened device in the Yu-gi-oh! fandom. I immediately took a great liking to it and just as the author (Scribbler) of the fic I read, did, I am going to include the instructions for the concept below, in the hope that it will spread. Happy typing to y´all!

_Instructions: "Basically, it consists of writing five scenes that are a departure from canon, either drastically or more subtly. They can be interconnected, or they can not be. The whole point is just to come up with five separate possibilities."_

Note II: All five scenes can be read independently from each other. Most will be set in the SEGA universe. For scene one there´s a slight Archie/SatAM warning, but you can read it even if you don´t know much about that sonicverse - the only things you should know are that Sonic lives in the village of Knothole with lots of other anthros (calling themselves Freedom Fighters), and that Sally is his friend and the princess of the royal family of Acorn. There you go. Please enjoy!

* * *

Five Things that Never Happened

_by Taranea_

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**Scene 1: Still the Fastest**

Sonic was grinning. The air was rushing past him and he was winning the race. All of the other contestants were far behind him and he could hear the voices of his friends chanting in his ears, cheering him on. His muscles were already aching, but now he put on an extra dose of speed. The finishing line came in sight and he went for it. The band tore as he pushed through and the rush of adrenaline and happiness was what he lived for.

Sonic proudly sat on the pedestal as the gold medal was awarded to him and later joined his friends who were now hailing him towards them.

"Great job, Sonic! I´m so happy for you!" His oldest friend Sally bent down to hug him and he joyfully returned the gesture, high-fiving Rotor the walrus with the other hand.

"Eet vos a marvelous race, I´m sure." Antoine commented, receiving a grin and a thumbs-up from the hedgehog, who knew for a fact that the coyote had probably spent the entire contest looking not at him but ogling their friend Bunny Rabbot instead, whose slender, entirely amber-furred body had already won a lot of beauty contests and could deter the focus of any teen-aged male. Still, the azure hedgehog didn´t begrudge Antoine. Sonic was always winning the races he entered, and as long as everyone was there to celebrate with him afterwards and have fun, it was fine. Sonic wasn´t a glory-hog.

They meandered around the competition grounds some more, watching some other contests or chatting to the occasional parent who showed up. It wasn´t until later that the trademark cheerful mood of Sonic became a little more sombre and by then, only Sally was with him, slowly walking behind and pushing.

"You seem distracted, Sonic." The ground squirrel commented, "Is something wrong?"

The hedgehog gave a sigh and a slightly sad smile. "Not really. But you know how it is."

She saw where his gaze had traveled and also looked at the other pair in front of them, walking hand in hand in the light of the sunset.

"Oh, Sonic…" the princess gave him a painfully understanding look and squatted down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders and resting her head against his, as the two friends watched the lovers. Right then, the pink hedgehog suddenly stretched on her toes and kissed the red echidna lightly on the cheek, who rested his hand on her hip in return, before they both walked on and vanished from sight.

Sonic dropped his gaze.

"You know, Sally, I´m really happy for Amy and all, but…"

He trailed off, but the silence between the princess and the blue hedgehog was an understanding, not an awkward one. Sonic knew that Sally, who had been his friend from childhood on and always helped him through difficult times, knew exactly what was going through his head.

"I just wish she´d ever really _notice_ me. That´s all, Sal."

"I know. But she does like you. As a friend, anyway."

"Yeah." Sonic smiled wistfully. "But she´d never love me. Amy only falls for heroic guys like Knux."

"For me you _are_ a hero. The princess hereby says so." She snuggled a little bit closer over the arm rest and hugged him tighter.

Sonic gave a chuckle, running a hand along the back of his friend.

"Yeah, right. The 'Crippled Hero of the Castle of Acorn', how´s that sound?"

She looked up. "Well, you _did_ just win the Knothole Olympics, that should count for something."

"The _Para-_lympics, Sal. Knuckles is the one who could enter into the real ones, with all his strength, and Amy would love him for it." He sighed, although a small smile was still visible on his features.

"...sometimes being born paralyzed from the waist down really sucks."

"Now, don´t talk like that." Sally replied sternly, catching his eye and to her relief still seeing that sparkle behind that emerald gaze that made Sonic into the wonderful guy he was, his inner strength and spirit outshining everything his body lacked.

"You know what, blue boy? For me you´re still the fastest."

xxx

As Robotnik attacked two years later, the Freedom Fighters didn´t stand a chance.

* * *

There. Saw it coming? 

Horrible? Interesting? Poor Sonic? Want me to continue?

In the next installment you shall see the alternate fate of one young fox, when it´s time for **'A two-tailed Orphan'**... and if you read, please review:)


	2. A Two Tailed Orphan: SEGA

(A/N) I can´t get over the fact how many comments I got for this story so far - thank you all so much!:)

And now, on with the fic!

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**Scene 2: ** **A two-tailed Orphan **

Miles hated his life. He lay shivering on a piece of cardboard and tried to ignore the stomach pains caused by the endless hunger. The young fox had wrapped his two tails around his body in a vain attempt to retain some warmth but the nightly snowflakes were falling relentlessly and seeped through his patchy fur like maggots of ice looking for warm flesh to devour.

Before him lay the shattered remains of a toy which he had made a few days ago, but which some other street gang kids had shattered. Now his fingers were too frozen and stiff to repair it.

A little sob escaped his throat. Why did everyone else hate him? Why had his parents never returned from that trip? And why had he been born such a freak with two tails?

The cold was making him drowsy and a little voice was warning him that if he slept now, he was likely never to wake up again, but sweet unconciousness was so tempting…

Miles curled up tighter, trying to escape into his daydreams where there never was pain. Outside of his eyelids the snow kept falling, but in his head, the pictures unfurled.

He had always dreamed of having a friend…someone who would look out for him…

"Hey there, little buddy!" he would say and protect Miles whenever those bullies tried to pick on him - _and I could also build things for him!_ the kit thought, his dirty muzzle stretching into a smile, _planes and cars and gadgets and games…_

He was not sure how his friend should look, but in truth he didn´t care. He dreamed of someone cool and strong, someone that smiled when he saw Miles and someone who grinned and laughed and was kind…

_Some hero who´s just passing through and then maybe sees how lonely I am and takes me along…yeah, that would be nice…_

The head of the kit hit the cardboard and while his mind was still filled with wonderful visions, his heart finally stopped beating.

xxx

A hundred miles away, one blue hedgehog sat in the little village of Knothole, watching the snow falling outside of his window. Currently he was busy poring over his _Wonders of Mobius_ magazines, which were stuffed to the brim with pictures showing all sides of the planet he lived on. Sonic dreamed of visiting the cities one day and seeing everything. Who knew, maybe he would even find some new friends out there?

Then he looked at his legs again and sighed.

Wheels would only let you travel so far…

* * *

Eeeh, anyone wanting to scream 'What is _wrong_ with you, do you have some obsessive-compulsive FOX-KILLING DISORDER, or something?!' might just want to wait for a later scene…please…(drop) 

These story´s chappies are short (even though this one is the shortest by far) but to make up for it, they are posted very quickly. Usually I only upload one sonic thing per week, so I guess this here is still a pretty good deal, no? ;)

Next up: Hold your breath (or just hold something, which might be more comfortable) for when it is finally revealed... 'The Truth About Fifty Years Ago'.

...three guesses as to whom it´s starring, and the answer is black, red and dangerous. ;)

Also, if you read, please review:)


	3. The Truth About Fifty Years Ago: SEGA

Note: Hi there again, thanks for reading:) Just to clear up some things: Yes, some scenes are loosely connected, but I they can be read independently. You´d still get everything even if you had skipped over the previous chapters.

Anonymous Review Replies!

Eric Neo Matrix: Thanks, glad you like it. This one here is not as short, but I do hope it´s good. :D

Ri2: Yes, he just has something tragic about him, doesn´t he? Or is that just me? XD No worries though, I´m not that heartless...;)

Ted: Is that so? Well, I hope I´ll be able to surprise you once more, then...:)

Twig: Hi there! Yeah, as stated above, there is definitely some intertwining going on, even though I actually didn´t plan it that way.;) But then it all happened in the same universe, somehow...but I think it actually turned out rather well, what do you think:) Shadow is right here, along with friends - I hope you´ll like this chappie too:) And that the fox-killing disorder won´t come on again...XD

And now, please enjoy!

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**Scene 3: ****The Truth About Fifty Years Ago**

"Shadow! Where is Grandfather? _What is happening?!" _

Tears were streaming down the girl´s cheeks as she was pulled behind the black hedgehog who was tearing along the metal corridor as fast as he could with his precious charge. Gun shots sounded behind them, and the rough voices of the soldiers almost drowned out the terrified screams of the scientists or the cries of those who were pierced by the bullets in the chaos that surrounded them.

"Maria! Please don´t cry! We need to make it to the escape capsules!" Shadow yanked once more on her arm while his mind was a sea of hatred for those who were now invading their home, destroying their little paradise…

_And just when the professor had succeeded in curing her, too – I want to see those bastards DEAD for doing this to us!_

They had reached the door of the space port and Shadow was frantically typing in the code for entering. It slid open and they rushed inside, but they could hear feet behind them, rapidly catching up.

Running.

Pounding.

Counting away their last seconds in safety like a clock of death.

"Shadow…" the blonde girl was clutching his hand now, staring at him wide-eyed and afraid. "What will they do when they catch us?"

_They will kill me_, he thought but didn´t say speak out loud. Every single word he said that upset her broke something inside him and he didn´t want to make it worse than it already was. Instead, he quickly scanned the room and saw the single evacuation vessel that was still there. And after only a moment´s hesitation, his face set like a mask of obsidian.

"Maria! Get in there! Quick!"

A noise at the door signified that the soldiers had arrived and were now trying to get inside. The hedgehog quickly pushed his frightened friend on the round platform where the capsule would encase her to allow a safe passage to earth.

"Shadow, what are you doing?!" She stood there, trembling, as she watched him hurrying over to a console. A terrible crack at the door meant that the uncooperative lock had been shot. The soldiers were almost coming through.

"I´m sending you to safety, Maria! Your grandfather finally managed to cure you, you can live on earth, now!"

He hit a button on the console and glass walls shot up around the girl, meaning he could relax the tiniest bit. The material was bullet proof.

"But…you are not coming with me."

It wasn´t a question. The girl picked up things _very_ fast and the utter horror that subtly underlined her voice as she had now realized what her friend was up to tore at Shadow´s soul terribly. He almost couldn´t bear looking at her.

"Maria, someone has to work the console to save you."

"_But I don´t want you to die! Shadow!" _droplets of salty water were flying from her face as she finally lost her composure and banged her fists against the glass.

The Ultimate Lifeform didn´t say anything as his hand grasped the lever, but just smiled sadly and at the same time as brightly at her as his screaming heart would allow.

"FREEZE!"

A soldier was standing in the doorway and had his gun leveled at Shadow. But the hedgehog´s gaze didn´t waver as he first looked towards Maria and then glared at the man.

"If- If you pull that lever, I WILL shoot you!" the young soldier shouted, panic riding on his words. The black hedgehog´s eyes narrowed.

"Then I´ll see you in hell."

He pulled the lever. The man shot. Shadow staggered. Maria screamed…

_"SHADOW!"_

But the capsule was already slowly moving downwards, getting her to safety. Shadow could feel the blood and life leaving his artificial body, but at that thought he raised his head and smiled at her.

"Please, Maria…don´t be sad, you´ll be safe…all those people on that planet, you can…" he drew another rattling breath, "…you can give them a chance to be happy. Just like you gave to me…"

The girl let out a horrible sob and fell down on her knees as her friend lay dying before her. His last words still rang in her ears as the capsule was ejected.

"Sayounara…Maria Robotnik…"

xxx

Many years later, Dr. Maria Robotnik sat in her clinical practice, crying. All this time, she had tried to live up to the words of her first friend. All this time, she had succeeded. And now...

They had come to _her_. Because she was the best. They had trusted her, even though she was a human while the two had been sapients and so many prejudices still existed. But she had wanted to help everyone, regardless of species. Studied medicine. Made astonishing discoveries. Ran this practice where she treated lots of people too poor to afford regular doctors, often anthros who lived in small villages out in the wilderness and came especially to see her.

And the woman had been in so much pain...

He just won´t calm down, she´d said. And looked at Maria, with tears in those green eyes, but still smiling. Can you help her? the man had asked, pleading. And Maria could have simply given her painkillers.

But she was Dr. Maria Robotnik. And Robotniks never went with the _conventional_. They were revolutionaries. Oh yes.

Another soundless sob escaped her throat into the empty room, as she doubled over in her chair, arms wrapped tightly around her torso as if wanting to suffocate her, while her tears were blurring the letters on the sheet with the test results that she had dreaded, feared, denied, but still received.

Oh no. Simple analgesics hadn´t been enough. They would make the patient drowsy, they had side effects and couldn´t be counted on to constantly block out the pain, anyway. Flawed. Not enough for _her_ patients.

Not enough for her _pride_.

So she had given the sapient a new drug she had helped to develop.

This should help calm him down and help him grow, she had said to the woman, smiling. No more hard nights for you.

The drug research project had been sponsored and assisted by GUN, who had branched out into the medical business and also done the entire beta-testing on volunteers, for which she didn´t have the time. It works perfectly!, they had assured her. Great work as always, Dr. Robotnik!, they had congratulated. It was supposed to be released on the market for world-wide use just a few months from now, but Maria had wanted to help the woman so much, had wanted to help her _now_.

And of course, as the inventor, she already had had some of the pills in her possession...

The sapient had called on her just two days later. I feel so much better! Thank you so much, he´s a lot calmer and more gentle now! she had exclaimed, her eyes shining with gratitude.

I´m very glad, Maria had replied. Would you mind if I took just another cell sample from him once more? Just routine, of course.

The woman, naturally, had agreed. Just routine.

But it hadn´t been routine. Because during those last two days, a terrible suspicion had started to grow in Maria´s mind as she had remembered something about the Guardian Unit of Nations. She had sent the samples away for testing. And then she had called GUN. And the answer had confirmed her worst fears. Because she had thought too late of the fact that for most of GUN´s command, sapients weren´t people, too poor to afford the medicament anyway. The drug had never been tested on them.

And for that little guy, so much smaller than a human, it had to have been so many times too strong...

The drug had only been supposed to relax. Not ruin someone´s future.

"I´m sorry, Sha-Shadow..." she whispered into the semi-darkness, "I...I broke the promise I made to you..."

This couple was not going to be happy. Maybe never again.

She looked once more at the sheet which confirmed what she still wished was a lie. Then she straightened. In the small room outside, the pair of sapients was waiting, not really knowing why Dr. Robotnik had called them in again, but happily obliging, still feeling very indebted to her. Maria clenched the paper in her hand.

Too strong. The drug had rendered half of the skeletal muscles inactive.

She opened the door, ready to inform Mr. and Mrs Hedgehog that their yet unborn son, who had been so lively in his mother´s womb that he had actually caused her cramps, would never be able to walk.

And for some reason, she felt as if that was only the prelude to even greater disaster and that she had caused it all.

* * *

O.o 

...and I was listening to such happy music as I wrote this, too...in the second part of the story, was it apparent right from the start what was going to happen?

Moral: If you mess up canon, mess it up thoroughly.

Side note: Any readers of the story 'Life could have been so different', you might be interested to hear that the first half of this was actually the original plot line for Shadow´s story in there. That was back in the day when that fic still had only three chappies in my mind, though...(dreamy sigh) well, I guess you are all glad that I decided to write it as part of this instead, huh? XD Shadow as a ghost would have made the frame story somewhat awkward anyway...;)

Side note II: Referring to Maria as 'Dr. Robotnik' is _weird_.

_Next up:_ Shadow never saw earth, Knuckles is in love with Amy and without Sonic as a threat, there never was a need to develop a metallic titan like Omega...and a white bat is _very_ alone. Indeed, Rouge is actually struggling to survive...

Coming soon: 'Scene 4: Thieving Royalty'.

...which is also featuring _another_ someone as a surprise.;)

Hope to see you all in four, and if you read, please review!


	4. Thieving Royalty: SEGA

Eric Neo Matrix: It was something I wanted to write for a long time, glad you liked it. :)

DeniedLuv: Thanks! I hope you´ll like this one, too...

Ciel: Yup, that was Sonic. Poor hedgie, no? Well, the new chappie´s here, so please enjoy!

Ri2: Yup, that sums it up pretty nicely. :) As for Eggman - hmm, I wouldn´t think it would matter to him that much, as long as she didn´t go against him. As for Shadow surviving a gun shot - well, I do consider him very strong, but not invincible. If the bullets pierced some vital organs, I don´t think even he would have a chance without medical help arriving soon. Let´s just be glad that this is not canon, huh? XD

* * *

**Scene 4: ****Thieving Royalty**

It was friggin _cold. _The female figure gliding through the starry night over the rooftops hissed some very un-female-like things concerning certain seasons of the year (and what she thought of their ancestry) before continuing on her way, rubbing her upper arms furiously in an effort to stay warm.

There were people who said that there was 'no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing', but these people would at this point have been doing well not to come into a two-hundred mile radius of Rouge the Bat.

It was _cold._ And cat-burglar jumpsuits did not come with central heating.

She should be hibernating somewhere. She should be on holiday on the South Islands. She should be anywhere but _here_, returning from some failed heist because that bastard of a jewel-owner just happened to have the most top-notch security system that she lacked the equipment or skills to hack. No, things hadn´t been going too well for her lately.

But only if 'lately' could be stretched to three years.

Rouge crossed another roof top, running. She almost thought she could still hear the robotic sentries whirring behind her, but her body now often lacked the energy to take flight in situations like this. The icy air of the night burned in her lungs.

With computer chips now being virtually _everywhere,_ simple dexterity and stealth just didn´t cut it anymore. By now, she couldn´t even get past the easier security installments...if there only was someone who had ever taught her how to handle those! The white bat had already had to use up almost all of her reserves of stolen gems from earlier raids just to feed herself…

Put bluntly, the 'Princess of Thieves' as she had been called in the past, was now painfully aware of the fact that she might not remain on the throne much longer.

Earlier, she had been planning to become a member of GUN, getting educated as a spy, secret agent and assassin, but with that Robotnik madman on the loose and noone to stop him, GUN agents were dying like flies in that war...and Rouge hadn´t even reached twenty by now. She just wanted to survive. Even if that meant going to bed hungry and exhausted every night. Better than sleeping forever, your glassy eyes staring somewhere at the ceiling in one of Robotnik´s bases you had been told to infiltrate.

Her foot caught on something and Rouge swore, before tumbling down and falling right into the gap between two houses, getting knocked senseless by fire ladders, drainpipes, frozen washing lines and masonry jutting out.

Her body connected ungently with the icy concrete ground and the impact drove the breath from her lungs. It took some time for the bat to regain her bearings before she could draw herself into a sitting position at least and look around. The place she had landed in seemed to be just another typical back alley. Broken streetlights bathing the place in darkness, rubbish, debris, dumpsters, locked back doors, mutant fox kids, frozen puddles, empty bottles – wait, _what?!_

Rouge had scrambled backwards against the wall upon realizing what she was seeing but now hesitatingly inched closer. Indeed, before her lay another sapient, apparently a young fox, judging by the face. A fox with two tails. Very, very cautiously, the albino bat stretched out a gloved hand to touch the creature, as if to see if it was actually real.

Her fingers brushed over the ragged fur, which was already as cold as the stone floor.

_Poor thing, he seems to have died out here…_

Rouge had never had children of her own, never intended to have any, but deep inside her, a faintly glowing ember of neglected motherly instict suddenly flared up.

_Maybe I could sell the body to some curiosity cabinet?_

Well, sizzled, more like.

But then the thing suddenly stirred at the touch, as if the warmth of her hand had ignited that last spark of life still within. Had he been merely dormant, on the verge of death as ancient hibernating instincts had gone horribly wrong? The boy opened misty eyes, staring at Rouge without focus.

"Are you an angel…?"

The bat gasped. The kit was still alive!

_But for how much longer would he be_?

Trying to breathe deeply, she drew herself closer again, wanting to see whether the young fox was actually awake or talking in fever.

"But your wings…like a demon…" the little one whispered, that sickly ghost of a smile still etched on his face, before his eyes fell shut again.

_Delirious. Even if my wings kind of look like that._

Rouge´s mind was racing. Should she get the boy to a hospital? It would mean a whole lot of trouble and some annoying questions ('And you were running through dark alleys in the middle of the night wearing a camouflage-jumpsuit…why?'), but then again, there was this nagging feeling that the fox´ feverish smile would otherwise haunt her dreams. Rouge had killed in fights before, but leaving a kid in an alley to die was...urgh.

_Are you an angel…?_

---

_Next time I´ll be listening to my 'demon wings' instead, _Rouge thought grimly as she was sprinting through the maze of dark streets, the body of the kit clutched tightly to her chest and belly._  
It would save me a whole lot of trouble._  
The cold flesh of the young fox on her skin made her shiver, but at the same time she hoped that maybe her body was also warming the unconcious boy somewhat in return.

----

"Rouge? Is that you?" Dr. Maria had just opened the back door of the hospital where she was chief physician and therefore one of the latest still about.

"Yes. I have a kind of emergency with me…"

"Oh my god! Please bring him in right now!"

Rouge sighed as the slender, elderly human blonde hurried away with the kit, shouting for regenerative equipment. Good old Maria Kintobor. You could trust her not to ask questions when it mattered - maybe because her own past seemed to be more than just murky. As far as Rouge knew, though a scientist before, she had changed her name about sixteen years ago, burned all her research and sworn never to do anything else than work in a simple hospital anymore. Nobody knew why. Some said GUN was hushing things up. Others said it was because she was ashamed because of her cousin and wanted to live an anonymous life. Rouge simply didn´t care. Still, for some reason she was always so kind to sapients, too...

----

It was a few nights later that a graceful figure alighted on the windowsill of the room into which the latest patient of the Kintobor Hospital had just been moved today. Miles opened sleepy eyes as someone slid effortlessly inside, even if he could have sworn that the window had been locked. Then his eyes grew wide.

"You´re…you´re the angel!" he gasped, but then caught himself as he for the first time saw the bat clearly and not in a malnutrition and fever-induced state.

"Uh, I mean, uh…"

Rouge grinned, baring ivory fangs. "Rouge´s the name. I´m an albino bat."

"Uh, you´re very, uh, beautiful…" Miles stammered, then blushed furiously. Trying to form an at least semi-coherent sentence he finally asked: "It was you that saved me, right?"

Rouge looked away, assuming an apparently desinterested air. To tell the truth she had no idea why she had actually come to check up on the kit once more, apart from her own curiosity.

"Yeah. It just happened to be on my way."

Miles smiled. "Thanks a lot. They´ve been really nice to me in this hospital, even though they say I´ll have to leave at the end of the week to make room for new patients…"

"Oh, really?" Rouge asked, examining her nails through the glove, "So where will you be going then?"

"I, eh, I don´t really know…" Miles bit his lip and gripped the blanket of his bed somewhat tighter. Not wanting to appear weak in front of the girl, though, he continued: "But after they´ve been feeding me here, I´m strong enough to fly again, so that´s okay. I´ll be able to find somewhere high up and safe to sleep."

That got the bat´s attention. "Wait a moment, did you just say _fly_? You´re a _fox,_ not a bird or a bat."

Miles shrugged. "Yeah, but I can do it with my tails. It´s kinda weird but really useful sometimes."

A strange glittering had suddenly appeared in the female´s eyes. "Does anyone else know this?"

"Not really. Most of the time I´ve been too weak to even hover ´cause I wasn´t really getting enough food."

"If you´re so thin I bet you can also fit through really small openings, right?" the bat asked, her tone now so casual it was almost suspicious, but Miles was too happy to just have somebody to talk to to even notice.

"Uh-huh, I can. Sometimes I have had to hide from bullies, but I can wriggle through holes that they are too large for."

"…and if you say you´ve lived on the streets does that mean you haven´t got any parents who miss you or something? Are you just all alone?"

It was a normal question, but usually people didn´t ask it with such enthusiasm.

"…yeah. I dunno where my parents are, they went years ago and never came back." For the first time the sparkle in the boy´s eyes had vanished.

And now for the first time the smile on Rouge´s face also faltered a little, as she suddenly realized what that would have meant for the little fox. Still, the idea that had just come to her already wouldn´t let go.

"Say, kiddo, would you like to come with me? I would take care of you and I´m sure there´s some things you will be able to help me with in return…" she stretched out a hand towards the kit in the bed who stared at her with obvious surprise.

Miles was stunned. All his dreams seemed to be coming true. It wasn´t a brother-like hero coming to his rescue, but a black-winged angel instead…

"Yes! That would be so cool, I´ll help you out in whatever way I can!"

"Allright, kid…but hey, what´s actually your name?"

"Miles…" he looked away. "…but I don´t like it very much." The fox briefly thought about telling her that he would find it quite cool to be called 'Tails', (just like the awe-inspiring hero they sometimes mentioned on the big info-mercial TV screens who was called 'Knuckles') but something about the bat was also a little bit intimidating, even if she seemed friendly most of the time. No, he would probably keep that to himself unless she asked him.

Rouge stared at him. Asking someone else for their preferences never crossed her mind, as she simply wasn´t used to thinking of others. That was something that would have to change if she was to take the little one with her, of course, but for now, she wasn´t yet taking his opinion into any account.

"How would you like _Kitsune_ as a name, fox boy?" she asked, studying him.

"Kitsune?" he repeated, testing the new name on his tongue.

"Yes, in mythology it´s the name of the trickster fox, who can vanish into thin air and is able to fool humans as he pleases. A very powerful and playful spirit. I think it would suit you well."

"…okay…" the fox kit wasn´t yet sure what to make of it, but he wanted to please Rouge. She would take him with her!

"But what is it actually that I´m supposed to be helping you with, Rouge? What do you do?"

She grinned once more in her deadly dazzling way.

"I´ll become the Queen of thieves, Kitsune, and you´re my apprentice!"

xxx

Kitsune laughed quietly. It was all so easy! The program he had written on his handheld computer had overrun the security system with ease and the rest of the mansion was child´s play. They had both alighted on the roof, then slipped in through the skylight. Rouge had knocked the dogs out with some chloroform (and a few spinning kicks for the more unlucky ones) while he was able to effortlessly locate the Chaos Emerald of the art collector they were currently robbing, using his tested and true tracker device. He pointed towards the bookcase behind which the safe was hidden and his teacher somersaulted through the infrared beams guarding the treasure with practiced skill. Cracking safes like this was Rouge´s specialty. It clicked open and within minutes they were outside again, their black silhouettes barely visible against the night sky.

Kitsune was carrying the loot while his teacher had the heavier equipment. He was not yet as strong as she, but under her training he had grown nicely and was now moving with the same agile, lethal grace as her.

The young fox grinned as he saw the glint of the stolen jewels in the moonlight.

At first, he had been hesitant when it came to taking things from their rightful owners. But Rouge had taught him better.

_Those rich people sat in their homes while you lay dying on the cold streets, Kitsune. You really think they deserve all this or shouldn´t we make sure there´s a little bit more justice in this world?_

Underneath them were some fierce fights going on as some of the last resistance groups were trying to escape the police Robotnik had installed as he took over most of this part of Mobius. They didn´t care really care who was winning, though. They were outlaws and whether it was the Doctor or GUN hot on their heels for their robberies didn´t make much difference in the pair´s opinion.

They were Rouge and Kitsune, Queen and Prince of Thieves.

* * *

Well, look how that turned out. Happy now? XD and now you can stop calling me Tails-murderer, too. ;) 

Since the scene had been set with the ending of chapter three, now it´s time to look into the future of our characters...

Next up: Five Things That Never Happened is about to wrap up and the final installment is featuring the blue speedster again. What can he do in a world where Robotnik seems unstoppable and his best friend has never even met him? Are the Freedom Fighters maybe already...**'Roboticized!'** ?


	5. Roboticized! : Archie

Ri2: Freaky´s the word. Still, I actually liked the idea of him as a thief a lot. Come on, foxes are born to do that...;) As for the rest of your review - please read on and enjoy:)

* * *

**Scene 5: ****Roboticized! **

"Rotor, I´ve had enough. I´m going out there."

"No, Sonic, you can´t!" The plump purple walrus, just as pale as the hedgehog, was standing in the door of the Freedom Fighter Headquarters, a small little room underground in the Great Forest.

"Rotor, contact with Sally broke up five minutes ago with a terrible scream. For all we know she could be _dead_!" Sonic was now staring up at his friend with a mixture of panic and fury as the other Mobian was still blocking the ramp that he needed to leave HQ with his wheelchair.

"_Get out of my way or I swear I don´t know what I´ll do!"_

"Sonic, we´re the back-up team staying behind and what _will_ you do when you get there anyway?!" Rotor wailed and although he tried really hard not to look at the hedgehog´s legs he couldn´t help it. Sonic noticed his gaze and his face darkened dangerously.

"Listen, I might not be able to walk but I´d rather _die_ or be roboticized than wait here like a trapped rat for Sally to fall into the clutches of that bastard! Now get out. Of. My. WAY!"

He bellowed that last sentence with an un-Sonic-like rage but also with the determination that was one of his trademarks. Rotor´s legs reacted before the walrus could think and stepped aside in shock. That second was all Sonic needed to wheel himself out of the door.

"Sonic,_ wait!"_ the voice of his friend called behind him but the hedgehog knew the walrus was too frightened to actually follow and stop him. He shot along the path through the forest to the place where he knew Sally and Bunnie had gone to destroy a roboticizer today. His jaw was clenched and he refused to let his tears spill as he knew just how ridiculous this whole enterprise was. He wasn´t even in possession of a fully working body and he was rushing out against a robot-commanding overlord to save two girls.

He didn´t stand a chance in hell. None of this had ever made sense from the beginning. All the 'Freedom Fighters' had managed to accomplish so far was to wreck maybe one or two simple machines. Antoine was already robotcized. Knuckles´ first duty was to Angel Island, where he had also taken Amy. Here, they couldn´t even kill a simple battle robot.

But Sonic was prepared to fight to the death, even if it was futile. Everything was better than waiting for the rat catcher to come to you.

Because this was _Sally_ in danger… and he still remembered.

Years ago, other kids had been teasing him, as low-down as only children can be. 'Wheelie', 'Slowpoke' and 'Freak' had been his nicknames, or even their favourite…"_Sonic". _

A cruel mockery. An eternal reminder of what he would never be able to achieve. And then they would push him down, steal his chair and laugh. Laugh their heads off when he couldn´t even escape.

_She_ had come to his aid, then. Probably the first princess ever to return home with a bloody nose from fighting with a bunch of bullies on the street, Sonic had thought later.

But she hadn´t cried. She had offered her hand and helped him up instead. Talked to him. Even asked for his name, which he didn´t want to give. 'Olgilvie Maurice the Hedgehog' was probably part of the reason why they had been picking on him anyway. So he had raced away.

And Sally had been panting incredibly hard as she finally caught up with him.

A wheelchair doesn´t mean you have to be slow, he had explained as she wouldn´t give up. At least downhill, or on horizontal stretches.

_But the world wasn´t all horizontal and the others still had caught him everytime_…

Oh really? The young squirrel had asked. Then those guys were right. 'Sonic' is a name you truly deserve…Sonic.

And he had smiled.

And now he was racing again, trying to save the life of his first friend ever.

Sonic reached the clearing and stopped dead as he saw the scene. It was Robotnik himself. And he was just about to drop Sally into the roboticizer, a huge, bulky machine that whirred and clicked as if in evil anticipation of the helpless victims to be dumped into the black hole that was its opening above.

"NO!" Sonic shouted stupidly and only realized that he had just now forfeited his advantage of surprise as the fat human turned around. And then the Doctor´s face broke into a horrible leer.

"Well, well, well, princess, look who´s come to join us. It´s your little blue cripple and I think he wants to save you. How sweet of him, no?"

Her head snapped up. Something in Sonic broke as he saw the look of pure agony on Sally´s face as she realized that her friend was now in danger, too.

"You want to watch as the princess gets roboticized?" the voice from the Doctor penetrated the fog of fear that had momentarily paralzyzed his brain and shocked him back into action. The repulsive human was by now dangling the squirming squirrel above the hellish machine again and his eyes flickered with twisted glee.

"Do you like seeing your 'leader' like that, rodent?"

A red mist descended in front of his eyes and Sonic charged. He crossed the clearing in moments, adrenaline and rage propelling him faster than should be possible. Right before crashing into the human, he screamed and launched himself from the chair, the momentum flinging him high into the air as the brakes stopped the wheels short. He flung himself at the surprised human and bit him hard into the ridiculously large nose as his hands were clawing into the red fabric of the dictator´s suit.

Robotnik screeched out in pain but recovered quickly and flung the princess to the ground in order to pluck the blue attacker from his face. He held Sonic by the neck and glared at the offender.

"I changed my mind, rodent." He snarled, "I´m going to turn _you_ into a slave first and _she _can watch. Won´t that be nice, you pest, to be responsible for causing your friend some grief before you die?!"

The hedgehog just glared back, not bothering to struggle. His lower body hung limp anyway and he was just trying to buy Sally and Bunnie some time to escape.

"My name´s _Sonic_, Robuttnik. Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Or serial number 223223, as you will be known in a few seconds." The human retorted unfazed and quickly entered a code into the machine to prepare for a hedgehog model.

Sonic watched from the corner of his eye as Sally had managed to sneak past the human and was by now just cutting through the ropes that bound Bunnie. When it came to victims, Robotnik fortunately appeared to have the attention span of a kitten locked in a room with two hundred neon mice on ecstasy. He held Sonic above the opening.

"Prepare to serve your new master, hedgehog!" The Doctor called out and dropped him. The last thing Sonic saw was the horrified face of Sally and then everything went dark.

Metal claws grabbed him. He could feel them ensnaring his wrists and indirectly also his legs, as a few muscles in his lower abdomen were stretched. The four pincers were now spreadeagling him flat on his back somewhere inside the machine and bringing him into position for the procedure. Sonic grit his teeth, preparing for the process that would not kill him but mean a fate worse than death. A mind slave forever…but maybe he would see his roboticized parents again this way…

Outside seemed to be some sort of fight going on but Sonic couldn´t hear clearly over the workings of the machine. He gasped as suddenly a green neon bright light flashed into life and a broad ray started to sweep over his body slowly. An incredibly cold shudder ran over the hedgehog´s entire skin and he almost screamed as he dared to raise his head a little when he saw that the biggest part of his feet had already been turned into shining steel.

Panic overtaking, Sonic squirmed and bucked helplessly against the restraints binding him but to no avail as the merciless light made it´s way all the way higher up his body, now already past the knees. He knew that when it reached his head it would be all over…Sonic closed his eyes as the deadly ray was creeping along his thighs. He didn´t want to watch as his living flesh was turned into this.

And then a terrible shock shook the entire machine. The light went out and Sonic´s eyes shot open.

"What…?"

"Sonic!" Sally´s voice cried out from outside.

"_Sally?"_

"Oh my god, he´s still in there! He´s alive_! Get him out of there NOW_!"

Another forceful crash impacted on the roboticizer and Sonic´s eyes grew wide as a spiked fist smashed through the metal wall a few inches from his head.

"Knuckles?!"

"Yeah." Was the gruff answer and a second fist made its brutal way through the hull, before a dreadlocked head followed. "Seems I got here just in time, huh?"

"Eh…"

Sonic looked at his legs which were by now gleaming metal. The echidna followed his gaze.

"…oh crap."

"Sonic! Sonic, are you alright?!" Knuckles was suddenly shoved from the hole and Sally´s worried face poked through instead, a relieved smile breaking out on it as she saw the still tied-up hedgehog.

"Well, at least half-way, it seems…let´s get you out of there!"

"Wait a minute, where´s Robuttnik gone?!" the blue hedgehog asked incredulously, still not quite believing that certain death had just passed him by this time.

Sally shrugged. "Knuckles chased him away. After you distracted the Doctor, I could send out a distress signal over Bunny´s telecommunicator and he heard it. But you are half-way roboticized…are you sure you feel fine?"

"Well…apart from being _chained up_", Sonic began, eyeing the metal restraints pointedly, "just as usual. Numb, you know?"

"Okay, Echidna blacksmith coming through. Please make way!" Knuckles called out as he dropped into the machine from above, thus cutting their conversation short. He took hold of one of the steel arms pinning Sonic´s hand down and gave a short grunt, before breaking the thing in half. The procedure was quickly repeated with the other one and the hedgehog sat up as Knuckles started work on the other two binding his legs, which proved to be harder.

"So…how are you and Amy doing? You are not living with us, I have no idea what´s up." Sonic asked casually.

"She´s got abducted by Robotnik. I´m going to get her back." The guardian looked away as he said this, obviously not wanting to see Sonic´s expression.

"_What?!"_

"Yeah. Your legs are free now, by the way, need my help to lift you outta here?" the echidna straightened up from where he had been working and turned around to the hedgehog again before he simply stared.

"She´s got abducted?!" Sonic repeated, a wild look in his eyes.

"Eh…yeah…she…eh…you…"

"What?" the hedgehog asked at the bewildered face of the echidna and took a reflexive step backwards.

And paused. And looked at Knuckles. And then, very _slowly_, looked down.

Looked down where he was standing as he had jumped up at the mention of Amy in captivity.

_Nerve poison didn´t affect electric circuits..._

"Sally!" both Mobians screamed. 

xxx

"I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!!!" Robotnik was screaming too, although it was several months later. Right now, he had just been handed another defeat.

By Sonic.

Oh, how he wished he´d never have learned that name….!

Then he remembered again that he had even been responsible for _creating_ his personal Number One Spiky Reason For Migraine in the first place. The overweight human screamed some more and threw a fit while thumping and hammering on the remains of his former battle mech and present scrap-heap, all the while howling in rage about a certain blue bane of his life.

---

Sonic however, was grinning. Racing through the streets of Robotropolis, his metal feet clattering against the ground, he felt as if this was where he truly belonged. The objective of today´s mission, some data disc Sal had wanted him to procure, was packed safely into his rucksack and he was now on his way back to the massively expanded headquarters.

Who knew ol´Robuttnik had been able to build robot legs able to move faster than the speed of sound…?

Sonic ran on into the sunset, a booming noise in his wake shattering the last windows of Robotropolis.

_Fin_

* * *

…'Mekion rip-off'? I don´t know what you´re talking about. 

Naaah, hopefully it´s not that bad. Your legs talking to you would be kind off weird.

But where´s Tails, you ask?

* * *

**Epilogue:**

Kitsune almost shrieked as suddenly the glass pane next to him exploded. But years of training had taught him that noise meant discovery and discovery meant death, so he hastily clamped a gloved hand over his mouth and his scream was soundless. Before him, Rouge hadn´t even flinched, just shoved him backwards, further into the ruin they were currently hiding in, so they wouldn´t get caught in the flying splinters.

"Rouge...what was that?!" he whispered, catching his teacher´s narrowed eye.

"I don´t know. Maybe some more of the Doctor´s insane booby traps. But we shouldn´t waste any more time. If we want to sell GUN those secret plans he supposedly has stored somewhere, we need to move fast. Do you have the moving of his robots?"

"Yes." the fox checked once more on his wrist computer. All the red dots were in another part of town. But these readings couldn´t be correct! Why else would the bots be running in circles, crash into each other or just vanish completely?

"Okay. Let´s get moving, then. Are you okay?" She asked, a little bit more emotion in her voice now than she´d usually let slip in when on a raid.

"Yes..." he answered and Rouge nodded, sneaking ahead with practiced stealth. Kitsune followed her, casting a last cautious look through the window that had just shattered. He thought he had seen a blue blur…

For the first time since Rouge had found him, the Prince of Thieves suddenly felt as if he missed someone.

* * *

There he is. Sneaky cub was hiding right under your nose, of course. ;) 

Hmm, the last chapter is here now and already there´s demands for a sequel. Truth to tell, I´m not sure. I do have a couple of scenes in mind I´d like to write, though. But it would probably take a while, since there are over three other sonic fics that want to see updates (and which you could always have a look at, too, you know?) ...but I actually think it´s going to happen, eventually. A one shot or five more alternate scenes...time will tell. How did you like the idea of the final chappie? ;-)

* * *

**Bonus Scene 6: www/fanfiction/net/s/3904113/5/**

Sonic pushed himself back from the computer, stood up and rubbed his eyes. He should really stop reading that stuff. Regular fanfiction was bad enough, but AU sometimes gave him _nightmares._


End file.
